For Woman's Love Part- 2 - Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth (robert munsch read aloud .TXT) 📗
- Author: Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
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Liberal Income, And A Faithful Friendship; And Then Trusted In Your
Sense Of Justice For My Reward."
"I Would Have Given You All I Possessed In The World--My Own Poor Self
In Marriage--And You Led Me On To Believe That You Wished To Marry Me,
But, Finally, You Would Not Have Me. You Went Off And Married Another
Woman."
"Bah! We Are Talking Around In A Circle, And Getting Back To Where We
Began. Let Us Come To The Point."
"Very Well; Come To The Point," Said Rose, Sulkily.
"Listen, Then: It Is Not For Your Reckless Elopement With Your
Step-Father's Pupil, When You Were Driven From Home By Cruelty; It Is
Not For Your False Marriage With Stillwater, When You Yourself Were
Deceived; But Because With All These Antecedents Against
You--Antecedents Which Constituted You, However Unjustly, A Pariah, Who
Should Have Lived Quietly And Obscurely, But Who, Instead Of Doing So,
Took Advantage Of Kindness Shown Her, And Betrayed The Family Who
Sheltered Her By Luring Into A Disgraceful Marriage Its Revered Father,
And Bringing To Deep Dishonor The Gray Head Of Aaron Rockharrt, A Man Of
Stern Integrity And Unblemished Reputation--You Should Be Denounced And
Punished."
"Oh, Fabian, Have Mercy! Have Mercy! You Would Not Now, After Years Of
Friendship, You Would Not Now Ruin Me?"
"Listen To Me! You Checkmated Me In That Matter Of The Cottage And The
Income. Yes, Simple As You Seem, And Sharp As I May Appear, You
Certainly Managed To Take All And Give Nothing. And When You Found But
That You Could Not Take My Hand And My Name, You Waylaid Me At The
Railway Station, When I Was On My Wedding Tour, And You Swore To Be
Revenged. I Laughed At You. I Advised You To Be Anything Rather Than
Dramatic. I Never Imagined The Possibility Of Your Threatened Revenge
Taking The Form Of Your Marriage. Well, My Dear, You Have Your Revenge,
I Admit; But In Your Blindness, You Could Not See That Revenge Itself
Might Be Met By Retribution! One Man Kills Another For Revenge, And Does
Not, In His Blind Fury, See The Gallows Looming In The Distance."
"What Do You Mean? You Cannot Hang Me For Marrying Your Father,"
Exclaimed Rose.
"No; Don't Raise Your Voice, Or You May Be Heard. No, Rose, I Cannot
Hang You For Treachery; But, My Dear, There Are Worse Fates Than Neat
Part 2 Chapter 25 (Fabian And Rose) Pg 86And Tidy Hanging, Which Is Over In A Few Minutes. I Could Expose Your
Past Life To My Father. You Know Him, And You Know That He Would Show No
Ruth, No Mercy To Deception And Treachery Such As Yours. You Know That
He Would Turn You Out Of The House Without Money Or Character, Destitute
And Degraded. What Then Would Be Your Fate At Your Age--A Fading Rose
Past Thirty-Seven Years Old? Sooner Or Later, And Very Little Later, The
Poor-House Or The Hospital. Better A Sweet, Tidy Little Hanging And Be
Done With It, If Possible."
"You Are A Fiend To Talk To Me So! A Fiend! Fabian Rockharrt," Exclaimed
Rose, Bursting Into Hysterical Sobs And Tears.
"Now, Be Quiet, My Child; You'll Raise The House, And Then There Will Be
An Explosion."
"I Don't Care If There Will Be. You Are Cruel, Savage, Barbarous! I
Never Meant To Do Any Harm By Marrying Mr. Rockharrt. I Never Meant To
Be Revenged On You Or Anybody. I Only Said So Because I Was So Excited
By Your Desertion Of Me. I Married The Old Gentleman For A Refuge From
The World. I Meant To Do My Duty By Him, Though He Is As Cross As A Bear
With A Bruised Head. But Do Your Worst; I Don't Care. I Would Just As
Lief Die As Live. I Am Tired Of Trying To Be Good; Tired Of Trying To
Please People; Tired, Oh, Very Tired Of Living!"
"Come, Come," Said Soft-Hearted Mr. Fabian; "None Of That Nonsense.
Place Yourself In My Hands, To Be Guided By Me And To Work For My
Interests, And None Of These Evils Shall Happen To You. You Shall Live
And Die In Wealth And Luxury, My Father's Honored Wife, The Mistress Of
Rockhold."
He Spoke Slowly, Tenderly, Caressingly, And As She Listened To Him Her
Sobs And Tears Subsided And She Grew Calmer.
"What Is It You Want Me To Do For You? What Can I Do For You, Indeed,
Powerless As I Am?" She Inquired At Last.
"You Must Use All Your Influence With My Father In My Interests, And Use
It Discreetly And Perseveringly," He Whispered.
"But I Have No Influence. Never Was The Young Wife Of An Old Man--And I
Am Young In Comparison To Him--Treated So Harshly. I Am Not His Pet; I
Am His Slave!" She Complained.
"But You Must Obtain Influence Over Him. You Can Do That. You Are With
Him Night And Day When He Is Not At His Business. You Are His
Shadow--Beg Pardon, I Ought To Have Said His Sunshine."
"I Am His Slave, I Tell You."
"Then Be His Humble, Submissive, Obedient Slave; Betray No
Disappointment, Discontent, Or Impatience At Your Lot. The Harsher He
Is, The Humbler Must You Be; The More Despotic He Becomes, The More
Part 2 Chapter 25 (Fabian And Rose) Pg 87Subservient You Must Seem. Make Yourself So Perfectly Complying In All
His Moods That He Shall Believe You To Be The Very 'Perfect Rose Of
Womanhood,' More Excellent Even Than He Thought When He Married You, And
So As He Grows Older And Weaker In Mind As Well As Body You Will Gain
Not Only Influence But Ascendency Over Him, And These You Must Use In My
Interest."
"But How? I Don't Understand."
"Pay Attention, Then, And You Will Understand Mr. Rockharrt Is Aged. In
The Course Of Nature He Must Soon Pass Away. Fie Has Made No Will.
Should He Die Intestate, The Whole Property, By The Laws Of This
Commonwealth, Would Fall To Pieces; That Is To Say, It Would Be Divided
Into Three Parts--One-Third Would Go To You--"
Rose Started, Caught Her Breath, And Stared At The Speaker; The Greed Of
Gain Dilating Her Great Blue Eyes. The Third Of The Rockharrt's Fabulous
Wealth To Be Hers At Her Husband's Death! Amazing! How Many Millions Or
Tens Of Millions Would That Be? Incredible! And All For Her, And She
With, Perhaps, Half A Century Of Life To Live And Enjoy It! What A
Vista!
"Why Do You Stare At Me So?" Demanded Mr. Fabian.
"Because I Was So Surprised. That Is Not The Law In England. In England
There Are Usually What Are Called Marriage Settlements, Which Make A
Suitable Provision For The Wife, But Leave The Bulk Of The Property To
Go To The Children--Generally To The Oldest Son."
"And Such Should Be The Law Here, But It Isn't; And So If My Father
Should Die Without Having Made A Will, The Great Estate Would Break, As
I Said, Into Three Parts--One Part Would Be Yours, The Other Two Parts
Would Be Divided Into Three Shares, To Me, To My Brother, And To The
Heirs Of My Sister. The Business At North End Would Probably Be Carried
On By Aaron Rockharrt's Sons."
"But Would Not That Be Equitable?" Inquired Rose, Who Had No Mind To
Have Her Third Interfered With.
"It Would Not Be Expedient, Nor Is Such A Disposition Of His Property
The Intention Of Aaron Rockharrt. I Know, From What He Has Occasionally
Hinted, That He Means To Bequeath The Great North End Works To Me And My
Brother Clarence, Share And Share Alike; But He Puts Off Making This
Will, Which Indeed Must Never Be Made. The North End Works Should Not Be
A Monster With Two Heads, But A Colossus With One Head With My Head. So
That I Wish My Father To Make A Will Leaving The North End Works To Me
Exclusively--To Me Alone As The One Head."
"I Think If I Dared To Suggest Such A Thing To Him, He Would Take Off My
Head!" Said Rose, With Grim Humor.
"I Think He Would If You Should Do So Suddenly Or Clumsily. But You Must
Insinuate The Idea Very Slowly And Subtlely. Clarence Is Not For The
Part 2 Chapter 25 (Fabian And Rose) Pg 88Works; Clarence Is Too Good For This World--At Least For The Business Of
This World. I Think Him Half An Imbecile! My Father Does Not Hesitate To
Call Him A Perfect Idiot. Do You Begin To See Your Way Now? Clarence Can
Be Moderately Provided For, But Should Have No Share In The North End
Works."
"The North End Works To Be Left To You Solely; Clarence To Be Moderately
Provided For; And What Of The Two Children Of The Late Mrs. Haught?"
"Oh! My Father Never Intends To Leave Them More Than A Modest Legacy.
They Have Each Inherited Money From Their Father. No; Understand Me
Once For All, Rose. I Must Be The Sole Heir Of All My Father's Wealth,
With The Exceptions I Have Named, And The Sole Successor To His
Business, Without Any Exception Whatever. You Must Live, Serve Him And
Bear With Him Only To Obtain Such An Ascendency Over Him As To Induce
Him To Make Such A Will As I Have Dictated To You. You Can Do This. You
Can Insinuate It So Subtlely That He Will Never Suspect The Suggestion
Came From You. I Say You Can Do This, And You Must Do It. The Woman Who
Could Deceive And Entrap Old Aaron Rockharrt, The Iron King, Into
Matrimony, Can Do Anything Else In The World That She Pleases To Do With
Him If Only She Will Be As Subtle, As Patient, And As Complacent To Him
After Marriage As She Had Been Before Marriage."
"If Clarence Is To Be So Provided For, Cora And Sylvan To Have Modest
Legacies, And You To Have The Huge Bulk Of The Estate--Where Is My Third
To Come From?"
"Why, My Dear, I Could Never Let You Have So Vast A Slice Out Of The
Mammoth Fortune! Your Third Of The Estate Must Follow Clarence's Share
Of The Business--Into Nothingness. You Must Play Magnanimity, Sacrifice
Your Third, And Content Yourself With A Suitable Provision," Said
Fabian, Equably.
"I Will Never Do That! I Would Not Do It To Save Your Life, Fabian
Rockharrt!"
"Oh, Yes, You Will, My Darling. Not To Save My Life, But To Save
Yourself From Being Denounced To Mr. Rockharrt, And
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